Cockey Lamp

This is one of 70 or so art nouveau street lamps, known as 'Cockey lamps', which were made by Lewis Cockey of Frome. They were originally gas lamps, later converted to electricity, and are unique to the town.

Some of them are 'listed' by English Heritage, but that didn't prevent the county highways department from cutting one up with an angle grinder to remove it a couple of months ago. The county council claim that the lamp was in such a dangerous condition that it needed to be removed urgently for public safety reasons.

There have been lots of letters in the local papers, some urging the town council to write to English Heritage to try to get county highways department prosecuted - and I hope that happens. The town council have already contacted English Heritage to try to get the rest of the lamps 'listed'.